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Sunday, February 28, 2016

Kerry to visit Dhaka ‘in months’

United States Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Bangladesh ‘within
months’, Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali told The Independent
yesterday.

The minister also said that Kerry has expressed his country’s intention to strengthen
the current Awami League-led government. “Secretary Kerry told me that they are
with the government and they want to strengthen the hand of the current
government,” the foreign minister said in an interview with this correspondent
at his office.

Ali returned home from Washington early yesterday where attended a White
House-sponsored summit on countering violent extremism and held meetings with
US Secretary of State Kerry and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

“Kerry will come to Bangladesh soon. I must come, Kerry told me,” said Minister
Ali, adding that the time for the visit has not been fixed yet.

Answering to a query, he said the visit of John Kerry would take place ‘within
months’.

Kerry condemned the attacks on civilians and called upon the opposition parties
to stop such attacks, said the minister.

“He categorically called upon the opposition to stop violence,” he said, adding
that Kerry also called upon the government to end the ongoing violence in the
country.

According to the readout of the meeting, Kerry called for government action to
peacefully end the recent violence, underscored the government’s role in
ensuring peaceful political expression for all parties, and emphasised the need
for a free and fair media that plays a constructive role in ensuring human
rights.

It also said that the secretary offered renewed US support to help achieve a
political solution that would return Bangladesh to its democratic foundations.

When asked what support Kerry wants to offer, the foreign minister said, “He
said nothing specific. He said they are with us.” Asked what his response to
the US offer was, he said, “I said thank you very much. We will see.”

“Bangladesh is a democracy and we support the democratic process of Bangladesh.
We want Bangladesh to be a successful country,” Ali said quoting his US
counterpart.

“No one talked about any interim polls. No one talked about any dialogue for
holding elections,” he said.

“Kerry said we just want the violence to stop,” he added.

During the meeting, Minister Ali requested his US counterpart to extradite
Rashed Chowdhury, a convicted killer of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who
is reportedly hiding in the US.

Asked about Kerry’s response in this regard, Ali said, “He listened to it. I
hope we will be able to see a positive result.”

The US secretary of state praised Bangladesh’s economic and social development
and sought Bangladesh’s support on issues relating to climate change, he said.

“Kerry was full of praise for Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her work on
climate change mitigation. When Kerry will be in Bangladesh, he will see the
projects on climate change”, said the foreign minister.

“We have broad-based cooperation with the US,” he said.

The minister said his US counterpart appreciated his attending the summit on
countering violent extremism.

At the summit on February 19, Minister Ali said, “Terrorists are terrorists
irrespective of their belief, creed and caste. There must be an absolute zero
tolerance to all forms of terrorism and violent extremism.”

“It is a matter of growing concern that the BNP and other political parties in
Bangladesh are directly inciting an extremist agenda in order to challenge the
democratic, non-communal, and non-confrontational narrative we are trying to
propagate from the government,” he said.

“In fact some of their recent cowardly acts like throwing petrol bombs at
passenger-laden vehicles are almost akin to the terror tactics being used by
the Islamic State and others,” he added.